Review: Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT Pulse

Conclusion

The wait for custom-cooled Radeon RX 5700 graphics cards is at an end. Sapphire, a long-standing AMD-exclusive partner, is one of the first out of the gate with Pulse Series models that aim to deliver a sprinkling of benefits over the reference board.

Finished in black, grey and red livery, the RX 5700 XT Pulse melds dual 95mm fans, five heatpipes, a full-length heatsink and an aluminium backplate to create a well-built package that serves as a solid start for custom 7nm Navi graphics cards.

Cooling performance, the star attraction for many a custom card, is improved by up to 10ºC, and noise levels have fallen whilst benefitting from a 0dB idle fan mode. Sapphire gets the essentials right, and TriXX Boost adds an extra layer of intrigue, however the slight factory overclock doesn't make the Pulse card any faster than reference during actual gameplay, and the £425 price tag is closer to the rival RTX 2070 Super than we'd like.

Bottom line: Sapphire clearly has the wherewithal to create competent graphics cards, but are the cooling improvements enough to warrant a near-£50 premium over a reference board? That decision isn't as clear-cut as we'd hoped.

Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT Pulse

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The Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT Pulse graphics card will be available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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